Arts Commons (Formerly EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts) is a multi-venue
arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...
in
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...
, Canada, located in the
Olympic Plaza ''Olympic Plaza'' may refer to one of the following:
*Olympic Plaza (Calgary) – A downtown city park and gathering place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
*Pyeongchang Olympic Plaza – Public square situated on the site of the former Olympic Stadium i ...
Cultural District.
Occupying a full city block, Arts Commons is a multi-level complex measuring over . It is one of the three largest arts centres in Canada and is home to six resident companies, including
Alberta Theatre Projects
Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta. The compan ...
, Arts Commons Presents,
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...
, Downstage,
One Yellow Rabbit
One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Perf ...
, and
Theatre Calgary
Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...
. Approximately 200 community groups make use of Arts Commons facilities every year, hosting everything from annual general meetings, graduations, cultural events, weddings, and more. In addition to a variety of performance and gathering spaces, Arts Commons also houses rehearsal halls, theatre workshops, offices, meeting rooms, a café, and visual and media arts galleries.
History
![JackSingerExterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/JackSingerExterior.jpg)
The oldest part of the city block that houses Arts Commons is the
Burns Building
The Burns Building is a historic six-story building located in downtown Calgary, Alberta. It sits at 237-8th Ave. S.E. on the end of Stephen Avenue overlooking Olympic Plaza and City Hall.
History
The building was commissioned by meat baron Pat B ...
, named after noted Calgarian
Pat Burns
Patrick John Joseph Burns (April 4, 1952 – November 19, 2010) was a National Hockey League head coach. Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he coached in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Jer ...
. Construction began in April 1912 and was completed at a cost of $350,000. In the late 1970s, the demolition of the Burns Building became a possibility, because it was on land needed for the construction of the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts. Demolition proposals were defeated by the Calgary City Council by one vote, and, along with the
Calgary Public Building
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...
(built in 1930/31 at a cost of almost $2 million), the building was incorporated into the plan for the Arts Centre. In 1979, the Public Building was bought by the City of Calgary for $3.8 million and its upper floors are still occupied by City of Calgary offices.
The newly created Centre was officially opened on 14 September 1985 by the then
Premier of Alberta
The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022.
The ...
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding ...
. After a donation by
EPCOR
EPCOR Utilities Inc., formerly known as Edmonton Power Corporation, is a utility company based in Edmonton, Alberta. EPCOR manages water, wastewater, natural gas, and electricity distribution systems in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British ...
, an
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta-based utilities company, the name was changed to the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts on 1 May 2001.
On 17 December 2014, at the Annual General Meeting, it was publicly announced that the performing arts centre would be rebranded as Arts Commons, the name which represents "the Arts" and which expands the organization's offerings beyond the performing arts to a wider variety of arts and genres. "Commons" is derived from the old town square concept where ideas are shared, people from all walks of life gather, and different perspectives are welcomed.
Amenities offered
Almost 400,000 people attend 1800-plus performances and events each year at the Arts Commons, including productions and presentations by the six resident companies, including
Alberta Theatre Projects
Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta. The compan ...
, Arts Commons Presents,
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...
, Downstage,
One Yellow Rabbit
One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Perf ...
, and
Theatre Calgary
Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...
. Such events include live theatre, dance, spoken word and readings, children's events, experimental theatre, art exhibits, public forums, weddings, training sessions, meetings, arts education activities, sporting events and competition, award ceremonies and live music concerts ranging from symphonic to jazz, to folk, blues, world, and rock.
Performance and other facilities
* Jack Singer Concert Hall, with 1,800 seats, “the Jack” is the largest venue in the building. Suspended above the stage is a 185,000-pound laminated
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
-wood acoustical canopy, which can be raised or lowered to tune the hall according to the specific needs of each performer. Named for
Jack Singer
Jack Singer (1917 – February 2, 2013) was a Canadian real estate developer, financier, and philanthropist. Although he owned numerous properties across Canada and the USA, he is most famous for his acquisition of Zoetrope Studio in Hollywood, o ...
, the Concert Hall is the permanent home of the
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...
, which employs 65 full-time musicians, and the 6,040-pipe Carthy Organ.
* Max Bell Theatre is a 750-seat theatre and is home to
Theatre Calgary
Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...
.
* Martha Cohen Theatre is a 418-seat theatre and is home to
Alberta Theatre Projects
Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta. The compan ...
(ATP).
* Big Secret Theatre is a 190-seat theatre and is home to
One Yellow Rabbit
One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Perf ...
.
* Engineered Air Theatre is used for concerts, films, plays, weddings, receptions, and galas. Can seat up to 185 theatre-style.
* Motel Theatre is a 50-seat black box, multi-purpose venue used for plays, experimental theatre and performance art and is home to Downstage.
Activities and performances
Arts Commons Presents is the presenting arm of Arts Commons. Series presented include the BD&P World Stage, Classic Albums Live, National Geographic Live, PCL Blues, and TD Jazz. Arts Commons also offers Arts Education programs (One Day Arts School, The ConocoPhillips Hub for Inspired Learning and Artist-in-Residence). Arts Commons also houses five additional resident companies, including:
Alberta Theatre Projects
Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta. The compan ...
,
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...
, Downstage,
One Yellow Rabbit
One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Perf ...
, and
Theatre Calgary
Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...
, all of which program their own individual seasons within the spaces of Arts Commons. Collaboration between companies is common and the 6 companies together form the Arts Commons ecosystem.
Arts Commons also provides free events for the community, including Arts Commons Cabarets, National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations.
Community Engagement
The 2018–19 season marked the official establishment of Producing and Engagement at Arts Commons, which supports equitable and inclusive opportunities for diverse communities in Calgary to converse, create, and celebrate. Through transparent and flexible partnerships, Arts Commons works with established organizations and grassroots groups to create arts-based workshops that create connections to amplify the voices of underserved communities. This includes the TD Incubator program, launched in fall 2021.
TD Incubator aims to accelerate the careers of 20-35 interdisciplinary artists each season who reflect the diversity and vibrancy of Calgary. Artists are increasingly moving between and blending artistic forms, genres, and industries to better reflect, create connections, and make sense of the complex world around us and Arts Commons is uniquely positioned to support these artists through performance opportunities and media art exhibitions. Alumni from the program include Wakefield Brewster, 2022-2024 Calgary Poet Laureate.
Arts Commons Transformation Project
Since Arts Commons opened in 1985, Calgary's population has nearly tripled and the amount of resident companies that call our complex home has doubled. As importantly, we welcome approximately 200 local groups into our building every year, providing the necessary spaces and support to build community. With the ongoing growth of our community, we have maximized all available capacity to achieve revenues from our current venues, turning away hundreds of revenue-generating events every year. If we are to continue to increase earned revenues and be financially sustainable over the long term, we must add more revenue generating spaces. ACT is positioned to meet this challenge.
With over 10 years of research, development, and community-engagement behind it, the Arts Commons Transformation (ACT) project includes two phases to achieve a new, vibrant campus in the heart of Calgary:
Phase 1 is the Expansion, which will provide the much-needed increase in the number of venues and spaces (adding an additional 25%-35% in seating capacity) necessary to meet growing market demand and community aspirations.
Phase 2 is the Modernization of the existing 560,000 square foot facility, elevating the public's experience through upgraded amenities and technology, while also addressing over $71M in lifecycle work.
Jordan Peterson Controversy
After the announcement of the University of Toronto professor
Jordan Peterson
Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian media personality, clinical psychologist, author, and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He began to receive widespread attention as a public intellectual in the late 2010s ...
giving a lecture at Arts Commons was announced, several Calgarian art groups addressed an open letter to the Arts Commons' Board of Directors on 24 July 2018. The letter demanded that the event be canceled, that they provide diversity training for their staff, and issue a public apology to the "2SLGBTQIA community". It expressed the "deep shock and disappointment" that the artists and organizations signing the letter felt over Arts Commons' choice to host the speaker, who in the past has been criticized for his online and public arguments against government mandated speech laws and his opposition to
Bill C-16
''An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code'' (french: Loi modifiant la Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne et le Code criminel) is a law passed by the Parliament of Canada. The law adds gender expression and ...
. The letter was signed by staff of several small artist run
centres, including
Untitled Art Society
Untitled or (Untitled) may refer to:
Artworks
* ''Untitled (2004)'', by Banksy
* ''Untitled'' (1982 painting), by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled'' (Devil), a 1982 painting by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled' ...
,
TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
,
Stride Gallery
Stride or STRIDE may refer to:
Computing
* STRIDE (security), spoofing, tampering, repudiation, information disclosure, denial of service, elevation of privilege
* Stride (software), a successor to the cloud-based HipChat, a corporate cloud-based ...
,
The New Gallery
The New Gallery (TNG) is a non-commercial artist-run centre that presents and promotes contemporary art in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
TNG is a not-for-profit arts organization and does not sell art. Instead, it provides a venue for artists produ ...
, other organizations such as the M:ST Performance Artist Festival Society and VOICESYYC, and over 1200 individual signatures.
A responding statement written by the CEO of Arts Commons at the time, Johann Zietsman, expressed Arts Commons' support for free speech which meant, "not censoring someone because we don't agree with what they have to say." The event was not canceled and was held on 27 July 2018.
Censorship Controversy
In early September 2018,
The New Gallery
The New Gallery (TNG) is a non-commercial artist-run centre that presents and promotes contemporary art in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
TNG is a not-for-profit arts organization and does not sell art. Instead, it provides a venue for artists produ ...
released a statement describing the circumstances of what it said was censorship of
trans
Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of".
Used alone, trans may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
* ''Trans'' (film ...
artist,
Beck Gilmer-Osborne, exhibiting in a vitrine space within the Arts Commons building and Calgary
+15 Network.
The New Gallery's said Arts Commons had turned off the 3-channel video work being exhibited in the space because, Arts Commons said, it contained swearing and nudity that had garnered complaints from patrons. On 29 August 2018 Arts Commons sent The New Gallery a letter saying the video work would have to be edited to remove the nudity and coarse language or the artwork would be taken down.
In response, on 8 September 2018, The New Gallery provided an open-letter written by the exhibiting artist, B.G-Osborne, in which Osborne stated that "rather than re-edit and censor my work to comfort certain viewers who are offended by the very banal acts of swearing and non-sexual nudity, I have decided to remove the piece from the space entirely." Osborne said it was ironic that an artwork that uses the imagery of cisgender actors playing trans characters to criticize the offensive portrayal of trans people was being criticized as offensive. Arts Commons owns the walkway and vitrine spaces but each is individually curated by a different gallery or art organization. Arts Commons programming director Jennifer Johnson said in an emailed statement to
CBC that "while Arts Commons believes the piece, A Thousand Cuts, has merit, the language and images contained in the video and audio component are not a fit with our commitment to creating a public space for all."
In 2006, Arts Commons (at the time the "EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts") also received criticism for censoring a transgender artist who was exhibiting in the same +15 walk way space with another of Calgary's artist run centre galleries,
TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
.
A temporary wall was installed throughout the length of the walk way that blocked the entire view of the vitrine space save for a smaller entrance that could be accessed on the opposite side of the walk way. This wall was installed without speaking to the artist, Edie Fake, or staff from TRUCK. The artwork was titled, 'Gaylord Phoenix in the Flower Temple' and depicted a cartoon of a gender-fluid man, touching his genitals (drawn as a noodle with paisley patterns).
See also
*
List of concert halls
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
References
External links
Arts Commons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arts Commons
Performing arts centres in Canada
Buildings and structures in Calgary
Theatre in Calgary
Music venues in Calgary